Influence of Childhood Maltreatment and Intimate Partner Violence on Parental Use of Physical Punishment in Colombia

Anastasia J. Gage, Tulane University
John J. Hembling, Tulane University

Understanding the cycle of family violence, from childhood to adulthood and from victimization to perpetration, is critical for designing effective domestic violence prevention strategies. Using data from the 2005 Colombia DHS, this study examined the association of childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence with parental use of physical punishment. Ordered logit models were run separately for women and husbands/partners to examine the severity of physical punishment used with children in residence. Women were more likely to use physical punishment if they had been physically punished in childhood and if they were victims of intimate partner physical violence. Childhood history of maltreatment and perpetration of intimate partner physical, emotional and sexual violence increased significantly the odds that husbands/partners used physical punishment. These results point to the need for child welfare agencies to effectively screen families for these problems and to the importance of including fathers in research on violence against children.